2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Summary of Homer's Odyssey is an amazing story of the long wanderings of the Greek king Ithaca, the brave Odysseus, and his return to his beloved wife Penelope. If in the Iliad Homer focuses all the action in Troy and its environs, then in the Odyssey the place of action is dynamic. The reader, along with the characters, is transported from Troy to Egypt, then to North Africa and the Peloponnese, ends up in Ithaca and on the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Life of heroes after the capture of Troy
The plot begins ten years after the victory of the Greeks in the Trojan War. The angry gods did not allow Odysseus to immediately return to his native place without hindrance. For some time, the hero lives on a distant western violet island with the sea nymph Calypso. For a long time, Athena, the eternal intercessor of Odysseus, has been trying to get permission from Zeus to rescue a person, and, finally, she succeeds. Athena in a strange guise appears on Ithaca, where Penelope and her son named Telemachus are besieged from all sides by suitors. More than a hundred people convince the queen to choose someone fromthem as husbands, referring to the fact that Odysseus died. However, Penelope continues to hope for the return of her husband. Athena speaks with Telemachus and convinces him to go on a journey to find out some information about the fate of his father. Almost immediately, Telemachus sails towards Pylos (on the western edge of the Peloponnese), to the city of Nestor.
Start of Telemachus' wanderings
Nestor gives Telemachus a warm welcome. He allows the young man to spend the night in his palace, and in the evening he tells about the trials that some Greek leaders faced on their way back from Troy. With the first rays of the sun, Telemachus sets off in a chariot to Sparta, where Menelaus and Helen again live in love and harmony. Outlining the summary of Homer's Odyssey, it is worth mentioning that they arranged a luxurious feast in honor of Telemachus, and they also tell the famous story of a wooden horse, the construction of which Odysseus suggested to the Greeks. However, they cannot help the young man with the search for his father.
The long awaited release of Odysseus
At the same time in Ithaca, Penelope's suitors decide to ambush Telemachus and kill him. Athena again begins to talk about the release of Odysseus. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, at the instigation of Zeus, goes to Calypso, demanding that she release the hero. Immediately, Odysseus starts building a raft, and then sails towards Ithaca. But the ruler of the seas, Poseidon, is still angry with him because the hero deprived the sight of the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of God. Therefore, Poseidon sends a merciless storm to Odysseus, the hero's raft is shattered, and only with the help of Athena does he manage to reachcoast.
Odysseus' path to home was not easy
Next, a summary of Homer's Odyssey tells us about the events of the next morning. The hero wakes up from the sound of girlish voices. This is the princess of Scheria named Nausicaa and her faithful servants. Odysseus asks Nausicaa for help, and she is supportive of the hero - she gives him food and clothes, and at the same time tells about herself and her royal parents. To the servants, Nausicaä says that she wants to see such a person as her spouse. The queen sends Odysseus to the capital, where he, left to himself, admires the luxurious palace and the amazing garden of the king of the feacs. In the front hall he is met by Tsar Alkina and his wife Areta - they give the hero an extremely kind welcome and listen to his request to help him return to his homeland.
The next day, a grand feast is held in the Feac capital. The talented singer Demodok recites several ancient legends about gods and heroes. Alkinoy asks Odysseus to tell the people of the Feacians about himself and the adventures that happened to him. The fabulous, amazing story of Odysseus lasts until the very night, and the feacs listen to it with pleasure. The good-natured people generously endow their guest, and then put at his disposal a high-speed ship and send Odysseus home. The hero himself falls into a deep sleep at this time. Waking up, he sees that he found himself in Ithaca, where he had not been for almost twenty years.
Return to Ithaca and meet my son
At this moment in the summary of the "Odyssey"Homer again turns on Athena. She has been waiting for the hero for a long time and immediately warns that danger awaits him in the palace. Insolent and tired of waiting, the suitors are even ready to kill the king if he openly appears in his house. Therefore, Athena transforms Odysseus into a beggar, and she herself goes in search of Telemachus, wandering around the mainland of Greece. Odysseus at this time stops at a swineherd named Eumeus. Although he did not recognize his master, he treated him very kindly and friendly. Telemachus returns, and Athena helps the young man recognize his father.
What does Homer say next? The Odyssey, the content of which we are studying, continues. After a joyful meeting between father and son, the two of them develop a plan to destroy Penelope's suitors. Telemachus sets off towards the palace, and Odysseus, without changing his appearance to the real one, goes there a little later. Some grooms and servants treat him rudely, and the professional beggar Ir even challenges Odysseus to a duel. Odysseus manages to talk to Penelope and mislead her with his fiction. However, he fails to outwit Eurycleia, his old nanny: the woman recognizes the pupil by the old scar on her leg. Odysseus convinces Eurycleia to keep the secret of his return. Penelope, without guessing who is standing in front of her, informs Odysseus about the strange dream that she had that night, and about her intention to arrange a competition for the suitors, according to the results of which she will determine which of them will become her husband.
Revenge of Odysseus and the reign of peace
Finally, it's competition day. Penelope's husband should be someone who can bend Odysseus' bow, draw back the string, and then shoot an arrow so that it flies through a dozen rings - holes for the handle in axes lined up. Many suitors have failed, and the beggar (under whose guise Odysseus was hiding) manages to do it. He throws off his rags, stands with Telemachus at the entrance to the hall, and with the help of two devoted slaves, the son and father exterminate all suitors. Penelope, on the other hand, first arranges a test for Odysseus to make sure that her husband is really in front of her, and then happily accepts her husband after a long separation.
The story that Homer described in his poem is nearing completion. The Odyssey, a very brief summary of which is given in this article, ends with the hero going to see Laertes, his aged father. In pursuit of him, in order to take revenge, the relatives of the grooms set off. Together with several devoted servants, a son and a father, Odysseus manages to repel their onslaught. And then Athena intervenes with the permission of Zeus and helps restore peace and prosperity to the vastness of Ithaca again.
Recommended:
"Legends and myths of Ancient Greece": a summary. "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece", Nikolai Kuhn
The Greek gods and goddesses, Greek heroes, myths and legends about them served as the basis, source of inspiration for European poets, playwrights and artists. Therefore, it is important to know their summary. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece, the entire Greek culture, especially of the late time, when both philosophy and democracy were developed, had a strong influence on the formation of the entire European civilization as a whole
Baroque literature - what is it? Stylistic features of baroque literature. Baroque literature in Russia: examples, writers
Baroque is an artistic movement that developed in the early 17th century. Translated from Italian, the term means "bizarre", "strange". This direction touched different types of art and, above all, architecture. And what are the characteristics of baroque literature?
Conflict in literature - what is this concept? Types, types and examples of conflicts in literature
The main component of an ideally developing plot is conflict: struggle, confrontation of interests and characters, different perceptions of situations. The conflict gives rise to a relationship between literary images, and behind it, like a guide, the plot develops
Psychologism in literature is Psychologism in literature: definition and examples
What is psychologism in literature? The definition of this concept will not give a complete picture. Examples should be taken from works of art. But, in short, psychologism in literature is the depiction of the inner world of the hero through various means. The author uses a system of artistic techniques, which allows him to deeply and in detail reveal the state of mind of the character
The best works of world literature. The Labors of Hercules: a summary (myths of Ancient Greece)
The Greeks themselves were very fond of retelling the exploits of Hercules to each other. Brief content (myths of Ancient Greece and other sources) they can be found in various written documents of subsequent eras. The main character of these stories is a difficult face. He is the son of the god Zeus himself, the supreme ruler of Olympus, the thunderstorm and the lord of all other deities and mere mortals
